The Crossroads Classic has become an item for my bucket list. I won’t be able to cross it off this year, but the games must go on. What better way to celebrate the holidays in the Hoosier State by watching four of the most prominent colleges in the state compete in the sports it’s known for? This year, Notre Dame has drawn Purdue as its opponent, and Indiana will face Butler in the other game.
This is the 10th season of the event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and the Irish are looking to right the ship both with this season (2-3) and this event (4-5). Though they have a nice weapon leading ACC scorer Prentiss Hubb (19.4 points a game), they need more contributions from a bench that has provided very few early in the season. That could change now that Trey Wertz is in the rotation, and would help if Nikola Djogo, the only other substitute to log substantial minutes thus far, got something going. Otherwise, the starters could get burned out quickly, even if Mike Brey says they’ve been conditioned to play many minutes a game.